Behind the Scenes at BHVP

Today, Jonathan, one of our Social Event videographers and editors is working on a project for Pala Casino. We also have a corporate video department that does website and promotional videos for San Diego businesses. Jonathan is creating an employee appreciation video and is currently working in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.

This is my office door decorated with thank you letters and holiday cards from past clients and some of our favorite San Diego vendors. It reminds us each day how important and special our work is to our clients.

WOAH! These are all our wedding and event videos archived on tape from 2004-current. Everything from 1983-2003 is still on file, but not in my office...it just isn't big enough!

Thanks for "visiting!" We are always available to meet with you to help you plan your special events and talk about how we can capture it on video to be remembered forever!

What Brides and Vendors are Saying...

Tue, Jan 19 2010 05:09
| Behind the Scenes, bob hoffman video, videography, wedding planner, What would you do differently | Permalink...about videographyI posed the question to a group of about 100 wedding industry professionals and married couples/MOBs, "Did you have a videographer at your wedding? Why or why not?" The answers I received blew me away with their positivity. I was moved by all the phenomenal things people had to say about our industry, because to be honest, we don't always get a lot of credit, plus most brides don't see the value in what we do until its already done.

Here are clips of what they had to say:Couple: Our short recap video is awesome to show to friends and family when we don't have time to watch the entire dayBride/Coordinator: I didn't want video at first, but I am a huge advocate for video now. I consider it an investment piece for the future.Bride/Coordinator: Find a way to navigate video into your budget. There are just certain things that photography can't capture...the quiver of your voice as you recite your vows? Priceless!MOB: Video has saved my daughters marriage more than once! Every time they have a fight they pull out their wedding video and remember why they got married.Bride/Coordinator/Mom: Your children will thoroughly enjoy watching your video. It is such a joy to watch it with them and answer their questions about our family and my dress. They say "mommy, you're so pretty."Groom/DJ- The people in your wedding wont always be in your life, having a video to remember them is really special.

...about what they would have done differentlyThe brides and grooms that answered this question said they would have spent MORE money on their venue and flowers and LESS money on the cost of chair rentals (keep in mind all of these couples had a coordinator and videographer and DID NOT regret it). The two regrets were not hiring a coordinator sooner and really knowing that cheaper doesn't mean better.

...about wedding coordinatorsYou're only engaged once (hopefully), so you should enjoy it, not stress! The couples we spoke with spoke the world of their coordinators who helped them with everything including:personal advice on their relationship, telling vendors "no," reminding them when to pay for what, negotiating contracts, their timeline and their budget. In the end they all agreed that having a wedding planner saved them time, money and stress!

Do you have anything to say about videography, wedding coordinators or what you would have done differently? Lets hear it!

Life-Cycle Events

Fri, Jan 15 2010 10:40
| Behind the Scenes, eulogy, funerals, life-cycle events, memories, update, videos | Permalink
OMG has it been a busy 2010 so far. Being in the event industry has some ups and downs. "UPs" include having the distinct privilege of capturing special moments and creating beautiful keepsakes for families to literally treasure forever...we make "most prized possessions!" That is seriously amazing to me!

But, for BHVP, being in the event industry isn't all happy and cheery best-day-of-your-life videos. We also do funerals. Funerals are definitely not as fun to do. We have little time to prepare for them, throwing our entire schedule off balance and they are very sad and uncomfortable. They immediately jolt us into the exact opposite of what we normally do. We are present for the worst day, rather than the best day of our clients lives. We really come full circle here.

So many of our clients (and brides) might wonder why the heck anybody would pay for or want a funeral recorded, but for us it is simple. Life cycle events should be remembered. When you are under stress, pressure and adrenaline you can't remember everything that is said. Is the speech your dad gives at your wedding more important than the speech his best friend gives at his funeral? Would you want to remember the eulogy any less?

Over the past month we have videotaped six funerals and memorials. It isn't something we like to do, but it is part of our duty to the San Diego community and our clients.